Friday Tidings

I don’t do this often enough—but I had a chance to spend two days at my mother-in-law’s senior living facility. Her hardworking daughter, Deanna, is the center’s Activities Director. Deanna pours her soul into providing engaging events to give these seniors brighter days. On Saturday morning, Deanna lined up small pumpkins so visiting children could decorate them. The residents nibbled on doughnuts and sipped apple cider while watching the young kids paint and play games. A temporary tattoo artist made colorful butterflies, flowers, and spider web tattoos on children’s faces and arms. The kids loved it—even the big kid I’m married to. Later in the afternoon was the monthly karaoke event. Songs from long ago were performed with flawless joy. The seniors in the audience sang right along with the performers. Steve—a younger resident, who’d had a debilitating workplace injury, is confined to a wheelchair. But I watched him belt out Daydream Believer with such gusto that it filled the

I’m not a traveler. But when I had a chance to visit the Holy Land, I purchased a new suitcase and got my passport. This was the one trip I’d taken many times in my heart and mind. Now it was happening for real. When I arrived in Israel, I felt like I was on sacred ground. I heard so many foreign languages all around me.  Reverence for where we were transcended language barriers. We’d all come to walk where Jesus had walked. The history of the Jewish people is wrought with pain, struggle, war, and oppression. There were tremendous times of blessing, followed by grief and exile. Even modern times have been horrific. Visiting the Holocaust Museum turned my insides out. Who are we as humans who could do such evil?  The truth was laid bare….so it would never happen again. Yet, it is happening again.  Jesus was asked, “What’s the greatest commandment?”  Love God and love one another. (Matthew 22:37) It’s an easy answer to remember, but sadly, it’s tragically hard to li

Every time I saw National Boss’s Day on the calendar,  I tried to plan something special—at least a nice note and a sweet treat on his desk. I knew my boss didn’t have an easy job.   And throughout my career I had the same boss—who doubled as my husband after hours.   Not only was he the boss and owner of his business, but he was also the daily operator of all its activities. I had a front row seat in the marketing circus of Washington State apples. High octane on most days with telephone and fax lines in use ten hours straight.    Weekends off? Not really. He spent half of Saturday mopping up all the business paperwork and Sunday night was the revered time to put together new weekly price sheets for the buyers.    I admired my boss. He was dutifully at his desk and didn’t mind tackling two phone calls at once. As the cell phone improved connectivity, he was always available. He’d answer every call with a jovial voice, a lighthearted comment, and was able to memorize more fruit

Yolanda pulled a pen out of her purse and grabbed the only paper she could find—a brown grocery sack. She rapidly filled in as many details she could recall of where she’d last seen the missing necklace. Its value was beyond the diamonds and rubies strung along the solid gold chain—this was an antique treasure of the Carmichael family.  Josie had casually showed it to Yolanda and several other friends after school. They’d stopped by Josie’s house for a snack and as they talked about dresses and jewelry, Josie invited the girls upstairs. In her parent’s huge master bedroom, behind a hanging mirror was a button that Josie touched.  Hearing a click behind them, the girls turned and watched Josie open a small safe they hadn’t seen before, or was it there and Yolanda missed it because she was watching Josie at the mirror? Either way, the safe was opened, and inside was a sparking gold necklace adorned with ten alternating diamonds and rubies. The girls all stepped closer and each had a